and go to "Manage Layout" from the Blogger Dashboard??3. Click on the "Edit HTML" tab.??4. Delete the code already in the "Edit Template" box and paste the new code in.??5. Click "S BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND TWITTER BACKGROUNDS?

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Due to the high volume of mail that we receive from young people who are new to Satanism, we have put together some information to help answer your specific questions and concerns.

If you have read our books, you know that Satanism isn’t about taking drugs, and it isn’t about harming animals or children. Unlike many religions and philosophies, Satanism respects and exalts life. Children and animals are the purest expressions of that life force, and as such are held sacred and precious in the eyes of the Satanist. Besides, it is very un-Satanic to take any creature’s life against its will. It is equally un-Satanic to cloud your brain and impair your judgment with mind-altering substances. A real magician has no need of those kinds of things, as he should be able to bring about changes in consciousness by the very power of his Will and imagination.

If you have not yet read The Satanic Bible, you should do so. It has much more information regarding our attitude toward Satan, and will give you a clearer idea of our philosophy, ideals, and goals. Perhaps at first they will be difficult for you to understand, because you may have been raised in an environment that dictates that God=Good and Satan=Evil. The truth is that good and evil are often terms that people twist to suit their own purposes. Sometimes people will lie and try to make you think certain things just so you will do what they want you to do. Always remember that the final judgment is yours. That is both a great freedom and a great responsibility. For us, Satan is a symbol of the power of that choice.

There is no one way that a Satanist is “supposed” to be. Uniqueness and creativity are encouraged here, not mindless conformity. It doesn’t matter what kind of music you like to listen to; it doesn’t make any difference whether you prefer gothic music, black metal music, classical music, old popular tunes, show tunes, or many different types of music. It doesn’t matter what style of clothes you like to wear. You don’t have to wear black, or t-shirts with “Heavy Metal” band logos, or trench coats. There is not an “official” Satanic music and style of dress, and you should beware of people who claim otherwise. What does matter is that you are a mature, sensitive, self-aware individualist who revels in the Darkness, and who wishes to align yourself with others who share your views. In this world of prefabricated, media-saturated, unoriginal drones, it is up to the Satanist to cherish, maintain, and preserve true individuality and creativity. Satan represents freedom from hypocrisy, from convenient lies, and challenges that which is presumed to be true. His image of pride, strength, and defiance, inspires us to our own strengths.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Have you ever just had one of those days. I spent all day yesterday cleaning( something I dont always do). I am in soo much pain right now. my husband says to me this morning " can you make sure the bedroom and bathroom get cleaned. Geeze hon thanks for noticing aall the other shit I did.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.I wish enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye."

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

THE CROSSROADS IN HOODOO MAGICand THE RITUAL OF SELLING YOURSELF TO THE DEVILThe crossroads -- a place where two roads cross at or about at right angles, otherwise known as "the forks of the road" -- is the subject of religious and folkloric belief all around the world. Because the crossroads is land that belongs to no one, a place outside the borders of town, it is considered a suitable site to perform magical rituals and cast spells. The use of the crossroads as an impromptu altar where offerings are placed and rituals performed is widely encountered in both European and African folklore. In ancient Greece, marker stones commemorating the god Hermes in his priapic form were set at the crossroads. In ancient Rome the similar god Mercury was the crossroads guardian.

In India, the god Bhairava, an older version of great god Siva, is said to guard the crossroads at the outskirts of villages. Stone phalluses and statues of Bhairava's watchful eyes are erected to represent him as a guardian of the boundaries.

In Guatemala, the old Mayan underworld Lord Maam, under his Catholic Saint guise of Maximon or Saint Simon, is generally depicted seated at a crossroads in a chair, just outside a church.

In Africa, almost every cultural group has its own version of the crossroads god. Legba, Ellegua, Elegbara, Eshu, Exu, Nbumba Nzila, and Pomba Gira are African and African-diaspora names (in several languages) for the spirit who opens the way, guards the crossroads, and teaches wisdom.

European tales of, by, and about European musicians, dancers, and others who seek physical dexterity selling themselves to the Devil are legion, frequent, and commonplace. It could be argued, and HAS been argued (not by me) that all instances of this belief in African American culture are simply cultural borrowings from European sources. One of the things that gives traction to the idea that Black folks borrowed the concept from White folks is that we have evidences of such beliefs going back in Germanic cultures far earlier than we see them among enslaved Africans in the Americas. That doesn't prove much, though, as we have little early evidence of African beliefs in situ from those early peiods.

Regardless, we DO have European sources in early folklore, and, to put it bluntly, when a white musician like Charlie Daniels writes and performs a country-rock piece like "The Devil Came Down to Geogia," he need not be conceived as borrowing from African American sources, because he can just as simply have been using his own Anglo-Germanic roots-sources for the inspiration.

This old, pre-Christian, Germanic idea of becoming the Devil's bond-servant (and here we mean Der Teufel, the old pagan woods-devil, not Satan) remained strong in German folk tales long afer Christianity added the "soul" and "Satan" elements to the story. For an example, including musical talent, see "The Devil's Sooty brother," Grimm's Fairy Tale #100. It is given in full, in English, here:

Some modern anthropologists have given these crossroads gods a new collective name -- trickster gods. In my opinion this is a misnomer, for not all crossroads gods and spirits are tricksters (unreliable, clever, deceitful) and not all trickster gods or spirits are crossroads gods -- the water dwelling kapi of Japan, the shoemakers' elves of Germany, and the wide-ranging Coyote of Native Americas being prime examples of trickster gods and spirits who do not inhabit crossroads.

American beliefs about the crossroads are many and they come in numerous variations. There are two major themes regarding crossroads rituals in the African-American hoodoo tradition. While these customs may contain an admixture of European folklore, they are primarily derived from African antecedents.

In hoodoo practice, after one completes a "job of work" or magical ritual, the most neutral way to dispose of remnants such as left-over candle wax, incense ashes, footprint-dirt, or ritual bath water is to carry everything to the crossroads, throw it into the intersection, turn and walk home without looking back. (Alternative methods for the disposal of ritual items include throwing them into running water for get away or moving spells, taking them to a graveyard for hard-core enemy work, or burying them in one's yard for drawing influences toward one.) If a job such as a Follow Me Boy Spell is worked to link two people, then the trick may be laid at every crossroads between the home of the practitioner and lover's home, that is, each crossroads will be marked with ritual artifacts to cement the bond and draw the desired one closer. Contrariwise, in at least one form of Hot Foot or Drive Away Spell, ritual items are thrown into a series of crossroads leaving town, to push the hated person out of town and to act as guards against his or her return. Also, there is a version of the Crossing Spell in which Graveyard Dirt is buried at a crossroads.

Not all hoodoo rituals take place at an actual crossroads, but when laying tricks or casting magical spells, many practitioners make use of what can be called a "portable crossroads" or circle with a cross inside, known as an "X" or "cross-mark," generally. The cross-mark may br drawn on the ground or on a personal altar with sachet powders or it may be created quite subtly, with a mere five dots rather than with two crossing lines. In the latter case, the dots go at the four points where the crossing lines would touch the circumference of an imagined circle and at the intersection or center-point of the circle. When drawn this way, the pattern is not called a cross-mark but a "five-spot." Although folklorists tend to call the pattern a "quincunx" and some anthropologists use the term "cosmogram," in actual conversations with real practitioners, you will hear them spoken of like this: "You lay down your salt in the four corners and in the center, like the five-spot on dice" or "Sprinkle your powders in the form of a cross-mark inside a circle" or "They'd lay out powders by the door -- a big old X-mark -- to trick you. A 19th century pen and ink drawing by E. W. Kemble called "The Hoodoo Dance" documents the practice. If you look closely you will see at the center of the dance floor a clearly marked portable crossroads or five-spot: A piece of cloth is laid on the ground and at the four corners of the cloth are set four candle-sticks with burning candles, plus four identical pieces of herbiage -- judging from their size and shape, either four large Clematis flowers or four carefully opened banana (plantain) skins. At the center-point of this portable crossroads is a small bowl heaped full of herbiage, presumably an offering.

The crossroads is the most popular place to perform a specific hoodoo crossroads ritual to learn a skill -- to play a musical instrument, for instance, or to become proficient at throwing dice, dancing, public speaking, or whatever one chooses. As this ritual is usually described, you bring the item you wish to master -- your banjo, guitar, fiddle, deck of cards, or dice -- and wait at the crossroads on three or nine specified nights or mornings. On your successive visits you may witness the mysterious appearances of a series of animals. On your last visit, a " big black man" will arrive. If you are not afraid and do not run away, he will ask to borrow the item you wish to learn. He will show you the proper way to use the item by using it himself. When he returns it to you, you will suddenly have the gift of greatness. The man who meets people at the crossroads and teaches them skills is sometimes called "the devil" He is also called "the rider," the "li'l ole funny boy" or "the big black man," black in this case meaning the actual colour, not a brown-skinned ("coloured" or Negro) person. Because he shares qualities with and derives from a number of African crossroads spirits (of whom Legba, Ellegua, Elegbara, Eshu, Nbumba Nzila, and Pomba Gira are some African and African-diaspora names), it is a common scholarly conceit to equate the crossroads "devil" with Legba, but that is utterly unheard of in the oral folk tradition.

Kenn Day is a nationally recognized lecturer with over 15 years’ experience delving into the mysteries of the human spirit.He began his studies in alternative healing techniques with Hypnosis, NLP and creative visualization techniques as a founding member of the Institute For Human Development.

Kenn has studied various indigenous forms of shamanic practice, as well as shiatsu, movement technique, jin shin do, and other body centered therapies. Kenn was on the founding faculty of the Academy of Chinese Acupuncture in Lebanon, Ohio teaching medical qi gong and tai chi. He is licensed by the Ohio State Medical Board and certified as a Structural Therapist.

Over the last ten years, he has taught numerous workshops on such topics as Shamanic States of Consciousness, Magickal Movement, and Sacred Theater.

Most recently, Kenn graduated from a two year training in Systemic Constellation Work — a form of soul level therapy pioneered by Bert Hellinger in Germany. He is now a Certified Systemic Constellation Facilitator and will be offering weekend seminars in Cincinnati and other major cities with his wife Patricia who is also a trained facilitator.

4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates!

5. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek!

6. Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires!

7. Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his “divine spiritual and intellectual development,” has become the most vicious animal of all!

8. Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification!

9. Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years!

Using the nail score an x shape onto the tea light and say "Illnes is scored out, all sickness is brought to rot."

Light the candle and then make a gris gris bag, by folding fabric in half and sewing the sides leaving the top open.

Pick up the stone and visualise the sick person lying there as you pass the stone back and forth over the entire body especially the affected area. "The waning moon shall shrink to bone and take with her whats in this stone"Cut yourself and drip blood over the stone and lit candle and say " by the blood of my body, my will be done, gods accept this offering of part of myself to make (persons name here) whole. So mote it be."

Sew the stone up in the pouch, When u see the person again I will give it to him to throw in the river and the spell will be complete.

2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.

3. When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do not go there.

4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.

5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.

6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.

7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.

8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.

9. Do not harm little children.

10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.

11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.

I just wanted to pop in with a side note. I am sorry if my pics are not always of the best quality, they are always taken with my camera phone. We all know those arent always the best, my new one is a 3 megapixel though, so we are movin up in the world.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

A family value that is high on my priority list is creativity. It is not a traditional family value but many would argue that a pagan family is not traditional in the first place, so in my opinion it fits.

Creativity is fundamental to humanity as a whole, without it we would not have made the discoveries and advances that we have as a culture. Pagans honour the sacredness of creation, the earth in her splendour creates on a scale that is baffling. Volcanic eruptions spew out what will become new ground; dead trees in the forest shelter the sprouts of new seedlings that will take their place and stand tall one day. Creation cycles throughout the seasons moving from birth to death and back again. In terms of culture Pagans are not only called on to observe or revere creativity but also to manifest it. Theatre, music, literature, visual art, clothing design….you would be hard pressed to find a coven or Pagan festival that does not honour the creative in some fashion. Even those who protest that they are not artistic use creativity to manoeuvre through life. Throwing a meal together from leftovers in the fridge, coming up with a solution to an issue at work, adding an essential oil to your cleaning water, all come from a sense of creating something and all come from a spark within. That spark needs to be nurtured and respected by yourself for yourself but also for your children.

Creativity and Kids

Children are born with their creative spark unhampered. They are full of possibility and freshness. All is new to them and so every new situation or thing calls on them to be creative in their approach. Is this ball for chewing, squeezing or throwing? Maybe it is for all of those things, I’ll have to try it. Witnessing these moments is a joy to many parents as long as these explorations are not dangerous, which of course they often are. There is a fine line that parents have to walk between keeping situations safe and not butting in. Kids use their imaginations at a record pace and need to be nurtured in this respect. For many adults who feel cut off from their creative spark the source of that disconnect can be found sometime in their childhood when an adult decided to belittle or control their inborn desire to create. Part of raising a well-rounded child is to allow him or her to be the leader in play whenever possible. If they colour outside the lines or mix the blue and yellow paint so be it. This is a time for play, not perfection. If the princess wants to be driving a dump truck or the cowboy wants to have a tea party who are we to hamper that desire? It is all part of the art of discovery and a manifestation of the soul’s desire to move through ideas in freedom. All too soon time and age will make play more realistic and force kids to “grow up.” Allowing them to explore in childhood will help them to keep their creativity as a tool and comfort as they age.

Creativity and Parents

Out of all of the skills that I have had to grab so far in my two years of parenting creativity has been the biggest help. If you are lucky enough to have two heads working creatively rather than one it can be an even more helpful asset. At three o’clock in the morning when a crying baby just cannot be comforted in the dozen ways you’ve got in your arsenal a eureka moment can hit you and you figure it out, for now. Parents are creative by necessity. Let’s make a funny face rather than stick our finger in the electrical socket, let’s have some carrots instead of eating the Play doh, let’s make up a superhero rather than emulate the one on TV. who just jumped through a window. If you have any desire to parent from a place of love and compassion rather than one of fear and dominion then creativity is in your corner. Sleep deprivation and stress can have a negative effect on our ability to tap into that spark, so we must try and remember to charge our batteries now and then. The clichéd idea of taking some “me time” is great advice but is not very practical for most parents. I can count on one hand the “me time” I’ve had in two years, but I try and take small snippets of time to dream, read, listen to some music or connect with nature. My connection to the earth is a constant recharge for me. Seeing flower sprouts in the spring or the discarded shell of a bird is a great reminder that nature is in constant change and it fills me with hope. As Pagans we are privileged to have a tradition of creative people who have come before not only creating the traditions or rituals that we may practice today but also raising children in a new way of thinking. A way that honours the ground we walk on, hears the wind coming off the sea, tastes the water of life and marvels at the hypnotic power of fire.

The spark of creation is fragile and yet so powerful. It can abandon us at times when we need it, but if we try and keep ourselves open to its voice and mindful of when it is manifesting in our children and ourselves it can be an infinite source of renewal and connection for our family.

Besom Blessing Ritual There, are of course, many blessing rituals in existence and this is the one we use. There is no right way or wrong way - it's whatever works for you. So if this besom blessing ritual doesn't feel quite right don't be afraid to change it. If you have several besoms you wish to bless, they can all be done at the same time. There is no need to perform the ritaul individually although there is nothing wrong in doing so.

•You will need a white candle, incense, a small dish of water, and some salt.•Light the candle and incense.•Breathe in deeply through your nose (as if you were meditating) and visualize grounding energy filling your body. •Breathe out through your mouth ridding yourself of all negativity. •Repeat this process until you are completely relaxed and grounded.•Pass the besom through the incense smoke and say: With scented air light and free, I give you breath. Blessed be.•Pass the besom (very quickly) through the candle flame (being careful not to set the besom on fire or burn yourself obviously) and say: With fire dancing wild and free, I give you passion. Blessed be.•Sprinkle the besom with a little water and say: With water pure I give to thee, the blood of life. Blessed be.•Sprinkle the besom with a little salt and say: Salt of earth I give to thee, roots in magick. Blessed be.•Hold the besom close to you. Caress it lovingly and say: I am yours and you are mine henceforth until the end of time. Life I give you willingly as I will so mote it be.Your besom is now ready to be consecrated.

So my uncle and his partner Doug have made the decision to have a baby and have taken me up on my offer to be the mother of the child. I will only be biological surrogate. While the child will be Doug and mine, I will not raise it they will. It will know who I am and that it has siblings. I cannot wait to do this for them anyone who knows me knows how much I love my uncle Tom and his partner. They also know I am a huge Gay and Lesbian rights activist. I will be blogging about this frequently so everyone will be kept updated. Thanks everyone for their positivity and support in advance. If you do not agree with this keep it to yourself.Thank you,Raven

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Monday, February 1, 2010

It is the midpoint of winter turning into spring—a time to plan for the year and make wishes for the future. There once was a custom to tie ribbons on branches for the wishes of the year. To plant your wishes, you will need a fallen tree branch and some ribbon in colors that symbolize your wishes. Create sacred space by lighting candles in white, red, and black for the goddess Brigid and burn cinnamon incense in her honor. Breathe in deeply the peace of the slumbering Earth at the moment before waking. Now tie each ribbon onto the tree branch, stating your wish three times. When you are done, chant, “Ribbons of colors oh so bright, bring my wishes to the light,” three times. Plant your wishing tree on your altar until the Spring Equinox when you will plant it outdoors. At the first harvest, Lammas, on August 1, burn the branch in thanksgiving for what you have harvested from your wishes.